Labajin Bridge
Labajin Bridge
腊八斤特大桥
Yingjing, Sichuan, China
722 feet high / 220 meters high
656 foot span / 200 meter span
2012
One of the ten largest viaducts in the world, the huge new Labajin Bridge is a spectacular new addition to a north-south highway that will finally connect Chengdu with Kunming in China's western province of Sichuan. The most amazing part of this bridge is pier 10 which rises 600 feet (182.6 mtrs) from the foundation. This is the highest bridge pier ever built in China and ranks 4th in the world after Millau in France and the San Marcos and El Carrizo bridges in Mexico that are also due for completion in 2012. Unlike other big piers in China, the tallest piers on the Labajin Bridge were built with four steel corner columns that were filled with concrete and are connected by concrete slabs to form a hollow box structure. Pier 10 contains 16 levels of boxes that will support the ends of the two largest spans of 656 feet (200 mtrs). This is grand scale bridge building of the tallest order and the highway planners have wisely decided to build a tourist parking area that will allow people to take in a view of the bridge and ravine.
image by www.scol.com.cn
Image by www.beiww.com
A view of one of the unique box piers formed with 4 large steel tubes at the corners.
For those who might be interested, the list below shows the World's 10 Tallest Bridges as measured from the top of the foundation to the top of the tower. All are suspension or cable stayed bridges.
1. Millau Viaduct, France 336 meters
2. Russky Island Bridge, Russia 320 meters
3. Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan 300 meters
4. Sutong Bridge, China 300 meters
5. Stonecutters Bridge, China 290 meters
6. Gwangyang Bridge, South Korea 270 meters
7. Jingsha Bridge, China 267 meters
8. Great Belt East Bridge, Denmark 254 meters
9. Edong Yangtze Bridge, China 242.5 meters
10. Mezcala Bridge, Mexico 242 meters
Image by www.beiww.com
A computer image of yet another tall beam bridge that will be on the same highway.
